Rotary impeller type well pump



July 23, 1935.

J. A. WINTROATH ROTARY IMPELLER TYPE WELL PUMP Filed July 18, 1952Innen/For.

Patented July 23, 1935 UNITED STATES 2,009,008 ROTARY IMPELLER TYrE WELLPUMP JohnA. Wintroath, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Winti-oathPumps, Ltd., Alhambra, Calif., a corporation of California ApplicationJuly 18, 1932, serial No. 623,029 4 Claims. (o1. 10s-102) This inventionhas reference to rotary impeller type well pumps, and deals in themajority of its aspects with an improved bearing arrangement l for theimpellers, the invention having as a par- "5 ticular object theprovision of proper and eilicient lubrication for the bearing.

In pumps of the present type, the submersed pumping unit comprises aseries of impellers carried von ya rotarypump shaft, the impeller being'contained within a series of impeller bowls. Well liquid is takenupwardly through anjarrangement of passages within the impeller bowls'and discharged upwardly into an eduction column extending to the groundsurface, by the pumping action oi the rotating impellers. The impellercarrying shaft is journaled within radial bearings at suitablelongitudinal intervals within the impeller bowl assembly; andwhere the'pump is used for pumping water from wells, although the pump is by nomeans limited vto this use as it'operates equally well for pumping oil,it is of primary importance that the bearings be so de- 'signed as towithstand long usage ywithout serious Wear, and to this ultimate endthat proper provision be made for lubricating the bearings.

It is a primary object of the invention to pro`rvide an improved type ofimpeller bearing and lto incorporate in the bearing structure, meanswhereby ample lubrication oi the bearing at all times will be insu-red.It is believed that the'invention will be most readily andiullyunderstood, without the necessity for further preliminarygeneralization, from the following detailed description of a typical andpreferred embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood howeverthat the scope oi the invention is in no way to be regarded as limitedto the particular form shown herein, since the invention is capable ofdeparture andvariations from the specific form selected for purposes ofdescription, without departurefrom the spirit of the invention as eX-pressed inthe appended claims.

Throughout the description to follow, reference is had to theaccompanying drawing, in which: Fig. l is a fragmentary sectional viewshowing the upper end portion of a submersible rotary impeller type pumpembodying the invention.;V

Fig. y2 is` an enlarged fragmentary section on nner-1 of Figi; i u Fig.3 is an enlargement of afragmentary portion of Fig. l showing theimpeller bearing construction and the arrangement of the lubricantsupplying passages. o In Fig. 1-,\I have shown only a fragmentaryporof-a complete impeller pump unit, butthis pellers, and that myimproved bearing construol tion maybe applied to any one or all of theimpellers in a complete' unit.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the impeller housing or bowl assembly,generally indicated at I0, is shown to comprise a series of bowl units'each consisting of .upper and lower sections II and I2 joined togetherby means of screws I3, the joint between the sectionsl being fluidtight.. 'I'he upper section II vof the illustrated top bowl assembly isattached by bolts I4 to an adaptor` head I5, into the upper end of whichis screwed the e'cluotion pipe I6 as at Il. During opera'- tions, thepump unit is submersed within the well liquid, and the latter is takenupwardly through the bowl assembly and discharged by the pumping' actionof the impelle'rs into the edu'ction co1'- umn within pipe I6 extendingto the ground surface.

The adaptor head section I5 has cast integrally therewith Ya centralshaft bearing support I8 carried by radial ribs I9 which are alsointegral parts of the head. Ribs I9 are arranged at spacedintervalsabout the central bearing support' I8, providing uid passagesat 2i) through which the well liquid is discharged from the upper pumpbowl section I I into the eduction pipe I6.

The outer shell of the upper bowl section II is cast integrally with a.hollow core 2l, the latter being supported by ribs 22 spaced'apartaround the hollowwcore to form fluid'passages 23. When ythe jointbetween the headk I5 and the impeller bowl II is takenup,the lower endsof the bear` ing support I 8 of the head and the upper end of core 2|are in substantial engagement as indicated' at 24. The lower bowlsection I2 also has a central bearing support 25 anduid passages 26sepa-rated by ribs 2I, se`e Fig. 2.

A motor drivenshaft 28extends centrally' and longitudinally through thebowl assembly asillustrated. Acording to the construction shown herein,the' shaft 2E is adapted to be driven by a motor,- not shown, located atthe ground surface, the 'shaftbeing shown to bel journaled within asleeve' 29' threaded into the upper end ofA bearing support I 8- of thehead l5 and projecting upwatery' a short distance within a pipe o scrveiisy onto the upper threaded portion of the sleeve. Pipe 33 extends tothe ground surface, and serves the usual purpose of the shaft enclosingpipe in an extensible line shaft pump, namely, to support shaft bearingsat suitable vertical intervals, pipe 3) ordinarily containing alubricant for the bearings. t may be mentioned that while I have shownthe pump illustrated herein to be of the extensible line shaft type, theinvention is equally adaptable to pumps in which the shaft driving motoris incorporated in the pumping unit submersed within the well, as forexample, the type of pump shown in my copending application Ser. No.517,481, filed Feb. 21, 1931 on Submersible motor driven pump.

A bearing line 32 is inserted within and in overlapping relation withportion I8 of the head I5, and the upper end of the hollow core 2| ofthe upper bowl section II. A similar bearing liner 33 extends within thehollow core of the upper section IIa of the bowl assembly below. In theevent the impeller below the single top impeller illustrated is notequipped with the bearing construction comprising the subject matter ofthe invention, liner 33 may extend down through the core 2I a of thelower bowl section, but otherwise a liner will terminate at the upperend of the core chamber to accommodate the bearing parts hereinafterdescribed.

An impeller 34, attached to the shaft 28 as described, is positioned inclose proximity to the lower end of core 2l, the impeller having aplurality of radial fluid passages 35 and the lower skirt portion 34a ofthe impeller having a running or substantially sliding nt withincounterbore 36 in the upper end of lower bowl section I 2. In mycopending application filed Oct. 26, 1931, entitled Submersible impellertype pumps, Ser. No. 571,016, I show certain improvements in theimpeller construction and its arrangement relative to adjacent parts ofthe bowl, for the purpose of preventing abrasive wear on the impeller,which improvements may be incorporated in the pump shown herein. Theseimprovements, however, are foreign to the present invention and need notbe shown or described herein.

An inverted lubricant forming chamber cup 31 is placed within the hollowinterior 2 Ib of core 2 I, cup 31 being non-rotatably secured to theshaft by means of key 38. 'I'he entry of well liquid into the upper endof the lubricant chamber 39 within cup 31 is prevented by means of apacking gland, generally indicated at 49, accommodated withincounterbore 4 I. The lower flanged end of cup 31 is secured to theimpeller 34 by screws 42, the joint between the cup and impeller beingfluid tight. As will appear, the impeller is rotatably driven from theshaft 28 through its connection therewith by way of cup 31.

A shaft surrounding sleeve assembly, generally indicated at 44, extendsupwardly from the lower end of the central portion 25 of bowl sectionI2, through the impeller 34 into the lubricant chamber 39. The sleeveassembly 44 is so formed as to perform the dual function of journalingthe shaft throughout the length of the sleeve, and also to -provide apassage through which lubricant may be delivered upwardly between theimpeller and the shaft into chamber 39. Although the sleeve 44 may beformed in any suitable manner to provide a passage for taking lubricantinto chamber V39, I have shown a typical and preferred sleeve assemblyconstruction to comprise inner and outer concentric sleeves 45 and 46having therebetween a lubricant passage 41 formed by longitudinallygrooving the surface of one of the sleeves. As shown in Fig. 3, theinner sleeve 45 has an enlarged diameter portion 45a at its lower end,and an upper reduced diameter portion 45h over which is slipped theouter sleeve 46, the combined thickness of sleeve 46 and the upperportion 45h of the inner sleeve being the same as the lower portion 45aof the latter. 'I'he lower end of sleeve 48 abuts against shoulder 48 atthe upper end of section 45a of the inner sleeve.

Sleeve 46 may be made substantially integral with the inner sleeve 45 byfirst heating and thereby expanding sleeve 46, and allowing it to cooland contract around the inner sleeve. The sleeve assembly consisting ofinner and outer sleeves 45 and 46 may be made substantially integralwith the interior portion 25 of the lower bowl section I2, by expandingthe sleeve assembly within the bore thereof, or by any other suitablemeans of attachment. Sleeve 46 projects above the top surface of theimpeller and into the lubricant chamber 39, the upper end of the sleevehaving a ring 53 serving as one of the race rings for the bearing Iwhich journals the inverted cup 31, and therefore the impeller, on thesleeve assembly. Sleeve 46 and ring 50 are locked against longitudinalmovement on the inner sleeve by a nut 53 threaded on the upper end ofthe inner sleeve projecting above flange 50, the nut being set againstring 5i). The outer race ring 54 of the bearing 5I is fitted to theinner wall of the inverted cup 31.

The bore of impeller 34 has a runningrflt with the outside of sleeve 46,the t between these parts being so close that while some lubricant mayleak from chamber 39 downwardly between the impeller and the outersleeve, such leakage will be comparatively slight. Lateral support isgiven the vertical wall of cup 31 in addition to the attachment of thelower flanged end of the cup with the impeller, by projecting the lowerend 31a of the cup into a counterbore in the upper end of the impeller,the projecting end 31a of the cup having a snug fit within the bore.

As previously explained, the impeller is driven by the shaft 28 throughits connection therewith by way of the cup-shaped member 31. During thepumping operations, the impeller takes suction at its lower end throughpassages 2B and 23, the well liquid being forced by the pumping actionof the impeller upwardly through passages 23 and 20 into the eductioncolumn in pipe I6.

Lubricant passage 41 in the sleeve assembly 44 is formed by alongitudinal groove in the outer surface of inner sleeve 45, as shown inFig. 2. A number of circumferentially spaced grooves 41a. may be formedwithin the interior of nut 53, one of the grooves 41a being brought intoregister with passage 41 as indicated in Fig. 3. The lower end oflubricant passage 41 communicates with a transverse bore 58 in one ofthe ribs 21 in the lower impeller bowl section I2. Lubricant is suppliedto the bearing chamber 39 through passages 41 and 58, by way of aconduit 59 extending to the ground surface, a reverse flow of lubricantfrom bore 58 into the conduit being prevented by a suitable check valve,generally indicated at 60. The check valve comprises an apertured plug6I, the aperture of which is closed against counter flow therethrough byball check valve 62 supported on bushing 63. The check valve is seatedunder the inuence ofV spring 64, the lower end of which seats against aplug 65 screw threaded into the lower end Vof the check valve bore, plug65 being adjustable to vary the tension of the spring.

As previously mentioned, packing gland 40 seals the lubricant chamber 39against the entry of well liquid at its upper end, and consequently theonly ways in which the well liquid may have access to the bearingchamber would be by upward leakage between sleeve 45 and the shaft, orbetween the impeller 34 and outer sleeve 4G. In order to prevent suchleakage, the lubricant is supplied to the bearing chamber undersufficient pressure to counterbalance the well liquid pressure intending to leak into the chamber, and in fact the lubricant in bearingchamber may be maintained under such pressure that a slight amount ofleakage of the lubricant may occur between sleeve 45 and the shaft, andbetween the impeller and sleeve 4B. The clearances between the partshowever, and the pressure under which the lubricant is maintained, willordinarily be such that the quantity of lubricant lost through leakagewill be but little and of no consequence.

A plurality of holes l and il may be drilled through sleeves 4S and 45,these openings serving as means to balance the pressure existing betweensleeve 45 and the shaft, and between the wall of the impeller bore 55and sleeve 46. Due to the velocity of the water entering the impeller,there would be a slight pressure reduction in the space between theimpeller hub and sleeve 46, tending to set up circulation between sleeve45 and the shaft and between the impeller hub and the sleeve 46.Pressure equalization and elimination of this circulating tendency isaccomplished by the series of holes l0, 1I, so arranged as not tointerfere With groove 4l.

In view of the foregoing it will be seen that ample supply of lubricant,free from well liquid, will be maintained in the bearing chamber at alltimes. And it will be further noted that even though the supply oflubricant should be temporarily cut off, no loss of lubricant from thebearing chamber would occur in that substantially balanced pressureswould be communicated to bearing chamber through the medium of wellliquid tending to leak upwardly between the impeller and sleeve 46, andbetween the shaft and the inner sleeve 45. That the pressures socommunicated to the bearing chamber would be substantially balanced isevidenced by the fact that the clearances through which such leakage occurs, both terminate at the lower suction end of impeller 34 and abovethe impeller below, the well liquid in the interval therebetween beingunder substantially uniform pressure. In view of the capability of thisconstruction to maintain the lubricant in the bearing chamber forsubstantial periods of time in the absence of additional supplylubricant, it is to be understood that in its broader aspects theinvention is not regarded as limited to the provision for supplyinglubricant from the ground surface, although the provision of suchlubricant supply connection will be generally preferred.

I claim:

1. In a. well pump, the combination comprising, a vertically extendingrotatable shaft, a tubular member secured to said shaft and spacedtherefrom to form a lubricant containing chamber, an impeller having itsupper end joined to the lower end of said tubular member at pointsspaced from the outside of the shaft passing opening of the impeller, arotatively stationary sleeve between said impeller and the shaft andprojecting above the upper end of the impeller, a bearing confinedbetween said sleeve and said tubular member, and means for deliveringlubricant to said chamber through a longitudinal passage. in said sleeveand from a point below said impeller.

2. In a well pump having an impeller bowl with uid passages extendingtherethrough, a vertically extending rotatable shaft within said bowl,and an impeller in said bowl and joined to said shaft; a non-rotatablesleeve secured to said bowl and extending between said impeller and theshaft to a point above the impeller, a wall attached to said impellerand shaft at points respectivelybelow and above the upper end of saidsleeve yand forming a chamber, and packing between said wall and theshaft preventing entry of well liquid to said chamber. v

3. In a well pump having an impeller bowl with fluid passages extendingtherethrough, a vertically extending rotatable shaft within said bowl,and an impeller in said bowl and joined to said shaft, a non-rotatablesleeve secured to said bowl below said impeller and projecting upwardlybetween said impeller and the shaft to a point above the impeller, awall attached to said impeller and shaft at points respectively belowand above the upper end of said sleeve and forming a chamber, andpacking between said wall and the shaft preventing entry of well liquidto said chamber.

4. In a well pump having an impeller bowl with fluid passages extendingtherethrough, a vertically extending rotatable shaft within said bowl,and an impeller in said bowl and joined to said shaft; a non-rotatablesleeve secured to said bowl below said impeller and projecting upwardlybetween said impeller and the shaft, walls forming a lubricant chamberabove the upper end of said impeller, a bearing between said walls andsaid sleeve, there being a lubricant passage extending within saidsleeve from below said impeller to said lubricant chamber, and packingbetween said walls and the shaft preventing the entry of well liquid tosaid chamber.

JOHN A. WINTROATH.

